02 - Italy - Ongoing debates and future developments
Non-university tertiary education
The High Level Art and Music Education system, to which article 33 of the Italian Constitution
acknowledges the right to lay down independently their own regulations like all highly cultural
institutions, is undergoing a wide reform, started with Law no. 508 of 21 December 1999, which
presents the following characteristics:
Conservatoires, the National Dance Academy and officially recognised Music Institutes have
been transformed into Higher Institutes of Music and Art of Dancing (Istituti superiori di studi
musicali e coreutici);
The MIUR is responsible for planning, guidance and co-ordination of the institutions, in
observance of their autonomy principles;
Educational institutions are primary centres for high level training, specialisation and research in
the arts and music branch and carry out related activities of production. They have juridical
personality as well as statute, teaching, scientific, administrative, financial and accounting
autonomy, also departing from the rules of the accounting organisation of the state and public
bodies, however in observance of the relative principles;
Institutions start training courses, for which it is required to be in possession of an upper
secondary education certificate, as well as improvement and specialisation courses. The
institutions issue specific academic qualifications of first and second level, as well as
qualifications of improvement, specialisation and research training in the arts and music field.
Equivalence between the new titles in the arts and music studies and university titles will be
declared exclusively for the admission to public competitions and for the access to the public
employment requiring such titles and for the recognition on credits;
The National Council for Higher Level Arts and Music Education (Consiglio Nazionale per l’Alta
formazione artistica e musicale, CNAM), with its seat at the MIUR, expresses its opinions on the
drafts on the regulations for the law implementation, the institutes’ teaching regulations, the
recruitment of teaching staff and planning of the educational offer in the art, music and dance
sectors;
Through Presidential Decree no 132 of 2003 the provisions on autonomy and governing bodies
(president, director, board of directors, academic council, board of auditors, evaluation centres,
professors' council, students' council) have been approved. Through Presidential Decree no. 212
of 16 September 2005 the provisions concerning the teaching regulations of the Afam institutions
have been approved. At the moment a further regulation is in course of approval. It provides for
the 'procedures, times and conditions for the planning and development of the higher level arts
and music education system, as well as the recruitment of teaching, administrative and technical
staff'. The final approval of this latter regulation will conclude the reform of the Afam system, in
accordance to the reform law no. 508 of 1999.
University tertiary education
Regulation no. 509 of 3 November 1999 introduced the teaching reform of university courses which
has been gradually implemented. Some amendments have been introduced (Ministerial decree no.
270 of 22 October 2004) following the monitoring of the first implementation phase. Amendments
foresee what follows: the duty of institutions to start up study courses in the respect of regulations on
the planning of the university system, upon favourable opinion of the University evaluation group; the
change of the name, from laurea specialistica to laurea magistrale (the identification of this title with the
master-level of the Bologna process is more evident); the duty of the universities to establish specific
criteria for the access to the laurea magistrale courses; the specific reference to the Diploma
supplement as a certification that should be released together with the new academic titles.
The general reform of university courses foreseen by the Ministerial Decree no. 270 of 2004, has been
carried out starting from academic year 2007/08. Therefore, some Italian universities may still offer
courses based on the old system, which are destined to disappear, and courses based on the new
system.
Institutions:
National Committee for the Evaluation of the University System
National Council for high level art and music education (CNAM)
Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR)
Ministry of University and Research
Ministry of Public Education (MPI)
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009
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